The U.S. Treasury Department is close to releasing a plan to shine a light on the owners of shell companies, with the goal of cracking down on tax dodges and other financial crimes. New rules, long in the works, will require that banks know and reveal who is behind shell companies that have accounts.

The Obama administration is increasingly taking aim at corporate mergers as the bustling market pumps out deals at a record pace, placing business titans at odds with Washington amid swirling political angst. The action has fueled tension between U.S. corporations that believe the government doesn't adequately grasp economic factors and political leaders who say companies are taking advantage of tax loopholes and vulnerable consumers.

After a lengthy boom, the financing climate is starting to shift, and startups face an even harder time convincing venture capitalists to loosen the purse strings. Those investors are anxious to get an early stake in the next generation of "unicorns," the companies like Uber and Pinterest that went, seemingly overnight, from being fledgling niche players to businesses with billion-dollar valuations.

Big merger and acquisition proposals trigger intense examinations of the benefits and risks of the deal from both sides -- valuations, assets, legal liabilities, operational risk exposures, and compatibility, among others. However, it is also critical that companies elevate another factor to the top of the priority list: their cyber risk exposure.

The Department of Justice is hiring 10 new prosecutors and launching a new pilot program aimed at enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), according to an announcement. The DOJ's fraud unit will see a 50 percent bump in prosecutors devoted to FCPA enforcement, which focuses on bribery and accounting fraud in countries outside of the U.S.

The SEC, in its continuing efforts to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in companies’ financial statements, voted to issue a concept release seeking comments on potential improvements to Regulation S-K, an SEC spokesman said. As company financial reports have grown in length over the past several years, regulators and accounting standard setters have wrestled with the question of how to make the reports more effective.

In the world of venture capital, Latino-owned businesses are rarer than billion dollar unicorns. Only about 1% of all Latino-owned businesses created between 2007 and 2012 in the U.S. received venture capital or angel investments, according to a report by the Stanford Graduate School of Business that surveyed roughly 1,800 businesses.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed new guidance for lead auditors' supervision of other auditors, citing inspections that have found deficiencies in other auditors' work. The board said its oversight activities have shown that the supervision of other auditors is an issue at some firms, in some cases because the other auditors have different business practices, cultural norms, languages, and quality-control systems from the lead auditor.

Businesses today rely more than ever on the secrecy of their data, financial information, special techniques, and their business opportunities to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and gain a competitive advantage. If this information is treated properly, it can be considered a valuable trade secret of a business and add intangible value to the bottom line. Read full article online.

Join us on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 1:00 to 2:15 pm EST. This webinar will focus on issues related to Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance, including typical provisions in a D&O policy; ability to access the policy in the event the employer is in bankruptcy; types of actions not covered by typical D&O policies; and issues which frequently arise when a Director or Officer makes a claim on a D&O policy. Register here.

Ice Miller has been one of the most active law firms in the private equity industry over the last decade, representing both entrepreneurs building great companies and the private equity firms and individuals that invest in them. We have extensive experience with all types of funds (formations and operations); mezzanine and senior secured financing; leveraged buyouts, roll-ups, build-ups, and consolidations; divestitures and exits; and complex litigation on behalf of investors and privately financed companies. In addition, over the past 10 years, Ice Miller has represented hundreds of emerging growth businesses in various industries on such matters as entity formation, capitalization, capital raising, alternative financing, intellectual property rights and protection, growth and exit strategies, corporate governance, tax matters, and many other legal issues that are critical to the growth and success of an emerging company.

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This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.